Gilroy man charged with arson spree
For release on July 13, 2023
CONTACT:
Michel Amaral
Supervising Deputy District Attorney
South County Office
(408) 201-0538
Gilroy man charged with arson spree
A Gilroy man has been charged with a two-week series of seemingly random arsons that shook the South County community, leaving homes, cars, and businesses scorched, and a housing project burned to the ground.
Daniel Catano, 32, was charged with 10 of the fires intentionally set in Gilroy and Morgan Hill in late June and earlier this month.
The defendant was identified by the public after police released his image. He was arrested on July 11 after a multi-agency manhunt, following an arson near a home in Morgan Hill.
Catano will be arraigned today on 10 felony arson charges at 1:30 p.m. in Department 105 of the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill. If convicted, he faces a lengthy prison term.
“The public, the police, and the firefighters have now done their jobs – and now we will do ours,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “I am deeply thankful that no one was hurt or killed. This dangerous man’s personal fire season is over.”
The first fire was set around midnight on June 28 when the defendant lit up a condominium complex being constructed in Morgan Hill. The intense fire caused evacuations from nearby homes. The second wave of fires was set soon after in July. Catano set seven of them on July 6 in Gilroy: burning fences, a vehicle, dumpsters, and some brush near a motel. On July 10, a witness called 911 to report a man fleeing from a brush fire in Morgan Hill. The Morgan Hill Police Department stopped a man that was positively identified as Catano. The defendant fled from the scene evading capture by a multiagency manhunt, that included the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the Gilroy Police Department. The next morning an off-duty Piedmont police captain recognized and arrested the suspect.
Police are working with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and Cal Fire to determine if Catano is connected to any other fires in the area. If you have any information to share regarding these arson incidents, please contact Supervising Deputy District Attorney Michel Amaral at (408) 201- 0538 or [email protected].
###